Finance class soon required for Salvation Army toys

BATON ROUGE - The Salvation Army will begin distributing presents to children Tuesday, but for the first time some parents took a special class before getting free toys.

Instead of just giving parents a fish, the Salvation Army says it wants to teach parents how to fish. That's why around 800 parents took a two-hour finance class to learn how to budget money and spend wisely.

"Our desire is that the families will become stronger, because the parents know that there's choices to be made and that they make good choices not just for their own finances but for their finances because they affect their children," said Salvation Army Cpt. Brett Meredith.

One parent, Laronda Williams, explained how the finance class has changed her life. She now has enough money to provide her three children with Christmas presents.

"It puts a smile on my face. I'm glad that they offered the class," she said. "Of course I had that intuition that I don't want to take it. I don't need anybody telling me how to spend my money. I'm glad they told me how to spend my money."

The Salvation Army still needs clothes and toys for around 400 more children. Next year the finance class will be mandatory for all parents.